My baby’s almost 2. And what a fun kid he’s becoming. Along with a tantrum here or there, he’s busy dancing, marching, coloring, and figuring out how things work.

Once upon a time, this crib used to be big…

Now we are just waiting for the day when he figures out that he could probably hop out of it if he tried. Luckily, that day hasn’t happened yet and we can confine him for naps and bedtime.

Ben continues to rock out the left-arm dancing. He’s starting to hold the moves during the long notes of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, and it’s adorable.

We now hear more “mommom” and “dada”, but Ben still prefers made-up words, babbles, and sign language. If he is holding a snack cup when you him a sippy cup, he will pass you the first thing with a “hmmmmm?” to say “here you go”. He also shows his enthusiasm for food with “mmmmMMMMmmmmm!!!”

You can tell that Ben is just taking everything in. He knows a lot more than he communicates and is just starting to really show us. He’s started to identify pictures and body parts by pointing. He studies the pages of books for quite a while. He officially knows that dinosaurs, lions, and bears can “RAWR!” and likes to roar at them.

Ben is in love with latches and buckles. I can’t remember why he doesn’t have pants in this picture – oops – but I was taking the picture to remember how he likes to get out of his seat when we park now and just play with the buckles. He throws quite the fit when we have to separate him.

Like most of my Pinterest-inspired activities, Ben enjoyed this magnetic board for about 30 seconds. I’m hoping that it will be more interesting as he gets older.

But you know what IS fun!? Running around with a bucket on your head…

I will be playing catch up with June entries soon, as that month filled up fast. It was a great month full of friends, the zoo, water play, and family events.